AV integration in a networked world

L-Acoustics delivers flexible sound to Moscow venue

Vegas City Hall in Moscow has upgraded its auditorium with an L-Acoustics K2 loudspeaker system, installed by Theatre Techniques and Technologies (TTT Group, Moscow), and Sonoruss, provider of L-Acoustics products in Russia.

Opened in September 2016, Vegas City Hall is a multi-level, multi-function concert hall in the North-West of Moscow. Owned by the Crocus Group, the venue has been designed to accommodate a variety of events including circus acts and spectacular children’s shows, chamber recitals and acoustic concerts, as well as conferences, presentations and workshops. This versatility needed to be reflected in the design of the audio system, with L-Acoustics loudspeaker system providing high quality sound that can be reconfigured in under a half hour.

Vegas City Hall’s auditorium spans three levels in the form of an amphitheatre, and can seat either 1,354 or 1,472 depending on the event. Large screens delivering 4K content are sited around the hall designed to create the effect of augmented reality, fully immersing the audience in the atmosphere of what is happening on stage. The Crocus Group wanted an audio system of a quality to compliment this.

“We received the architectural plan and requirements for the sound system, such as sound pressure levels, coverage and frequency response,” said Ruslan Piletski, chief engineer for the Vegas City Hall project. “Particular attention was paid to the system’s intelligibility and the architectural restrictions of the project, so that we could provide excellent results. After analysing the results produced by L-Acoustics’ Soundvision programme, the customer decided to go with our suggestion of an L-Acoustics K2 system, as it was the most suitable solution for solving the technical issues.”

The audio design for the Vegas City Hall was created by Alexander Ananiev, acoustic engineer for Sonoruss, and comprises 20 K2 – 10 per side hung either side of the stage – eight SB28 subwoofers, eight ARCS II for out fill and eight 8XTi for front fill, with a further 10 8XTi for under balcony fills and 12 8XTi for the balcony itself, plus eight ARCS Wide ­ four for the side scene area and four for the side forestage ­ with six 115XT HiQ for stage monitoring. Amplification is via L-Acoustics LA8 and LA4X.

“The most difficult part of the project was having two configurations for the same place; the concert hall and the circus arena,” stated Ananiev. “One universal solution wouldn’t be ideal, so we decided to use a reconfigurable design that could be changed easily and quickly, depending on what the hall is being used for at the time.”

For the first configuration, concert events, the SB28 are placed centrally between the left and right K2 hangs to provide maximum low-frequency and, therefore, quality coverage for all the seats.

In the second configuration, for circus performances, the SB28s are sited behind the K2 clusters, to meet the audio requirements and free up space in the arena for the trapeze artists.

“Thanks to the simple installation and the preset configurations it is possible for two people to move the eight SB28s quickly and easily,” said Igor Novikov, technical director for the installation at Sonoruss. “This means that reconfiguration only takes around 20-30 minutes.”

“After the installation of the equipment, the system was set-up and calibrated by an L-Acoustics sound engineer,” adds Alexander. “We did all the necessary measurements and the analysis confirmed the accuracy of the system as predicted in Soundvision. The results more than satisfied all concerned.”